Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Cheskin has devoted his career to the research, treatment, and advocacy of obesity prevention and treatment.

Navy veteran Becca Simon says coming to George Mason University and her experience as a student in the College of Public Health Department of Social Work has been life-changing.

Researcher Michelle Hand finds that music and nature decrease anxiety, stress, and depression.

We are proud to share our new College of Public Health Strategic Plan 2026-2030, a roadmap that reflects our shared vision to build healthier futures for all through interprofessional education, innovative research, and dynamic partnerships. 

This plan represents the collective insight, creativity, and commitment of our community. During the past year, faculty, staff, students, and members of our Advisory Board have actively contributed their ideas, feedback, and suggestions through retreats, surveys, focus groups, and committee discussions. Thank you for your time—your engagement shaped a strategy that is ambitious and achievable. Visit the Strategic Plan web page for more information.

Our new strategic plan focuses on five key priorities: 

Recently, there have been a few thefts reported in Peterson Hall involving personal items. Fortunately, the individuals responsible have been caught.

Your cooperation helps keep our community safe and our work environment secure. Thank you for your attention and care!

To help prevent any future incidents, please take the following precautions:

We hope to see you at the first Grand Rounds event on "The Polarization of Vaccines: Policy, Practice, and Future Directions"  today, November 10 from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm in the Multipurpose Room.

Science denial is rising. Misinformation and the politicization of health broadly, and the recent focus on vaccines specifically, create challenges spanning public health, nursing, and social work. Featuring George Mason faculty and students, this event will focus on how we as an interdisciplinary community can take action to ensure that evidence-based research, practice, and policy are conducted, implemented, and developed. 

The 2026 Virginia Alzheimer’s and Related Diseases Research Award Fund RFP is out. The fund encourages scientific research into: the underlying causes, epidemiology, diagnosis or treatment of Alzheimer’s and related diseases; policies, programs and financing for care and support of those affected by Alzheimer’s and related diseases; the social and psychological impacts of Alzheimer’s and related diseases upon the individual, family and community. Letter of Intent is due Dec. 1, 2025.

Mentees in this NIH-funded Faculty Access program are provided with two-year mentorship, career and professional development support, access to a national community of researchers across disciplines, a small stipend and travel to ACCESS-related meetings. Expected outcomes include increased wellness and self-efficacy, skill development in rigorous research to increase publication outputs, and NIH grant submissions and resubmissions. The application deadline has been extended to November 21.

The new NIH proposal scoring framework has implications for how you prepare your proposal. The NIH scoring system examines Significance; Investigator(s); Innovation; Approach; and Environment. Going forward, the Factor 1 score (1 through 9) combines Significance and Innovation, the Factor 2 score combines Approach and Inclusion and Clinical Trial Study Timeline (also 1 through 9), while Factor 3 combines Investigators and Environment with no numerical score. Importantly, your Factor 1 Score, ie, Significance and Innovation, sets the ceiling for your Overall Impact Score, meaning, your Overall Impact Score cannot be higher than the Significance and Innovation. This means, more than ever, you want to define a clear problem and gap in knowledge that your project will address; explain why it matters; and explain how your proposed project will move the field forward. Consultant Sara Dobson at GFF provides tips and free seminars if you are interested.

Fall Celebration is virtual on December 9 from 10 am to 6 pm. Share with your students. Students can register here. Learn more at celebration.oscar.gmu.edu/.

Share with your students! Abstract submission for the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) is due December 5. NCUR 2026 is scheduled for April 13-15, 2026 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in Richmond, VA. For more information, share this flyer with your students or visit the NCUR Website.

November 11 | 12 pm | Peterson 2407

All faculty and staff are welcome to join! Yoga will be in Peterson 2407 this week only. We are hopeful that this will be the last switch out of the Multi-purpose room this semester.

November 13 | 8:30 – 10:30 am | Peterson Lobby

Stop by our Appreciation Station to spread kindness. We’ll have Thank You cards, stickers, pens, and markers ready for you to write letters of appreciation. Coffee will be served.

Afterwards, keep the kindness flowing at George Mason’s World Kindness Day activities on Wilkins Plaza from 10:30 am to 12 pm.

November 17 | 4:30 pm | Johnson Center Cinema | RSVP

Staff, faculty and students are invited to view to the film Cooked: Survival by Zip Code. A guided discussion with Iulia Fratila (Global and Community Health) and Amy Page (Social Work) will follow the screening. Please RSVP for pizza.

November 18 |12-1:30 pm (With lunch taking place 11:30-12 pm)  |
George’s, 3rd Floor Johnson Center

This CECIL event will examine the impact of misinformation and disinformation on individuals/communities, institutions, and especially vulnerable groups. Participants will explore ways to promote equitable access to trustworthy information and prevent harm from false narratives in our never-ending sea of news and information online. The event will also address the well-being challenges of navigating this overwhelming and emotionally charged media. 

The goal of the event is for the panel to lay the foundation of the issue and then lead us into collaborative roundtable discussions where hopefully new connections are birthed as well as pathways for joint projects, research, partnerships, and volunteerism.

December 11 | 10 am–3:45 pm | Mason Square | Register

Join the Department of Health Administration and Policy for a one-day symposium featuring experts from George Mason University, the German Embassy, the University of Bremen, and more.

Learn about innovative solutions to strengthen the long-term care workforce through policy, training, technology, and global collaboration.

TODAY, November 10 | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, including lunch | Multipurpose Room | RSVP

Science denial is rising. Misinformation and the politicization of health broadly, and the recent focus on vaccines specifically, create challenges spanning public health, nursing, and social work. Featuring George Mason faculty and students, this event will focus on how we as an interdisciplinary community can take action to ensure that evidence-based research, practice, and policy are conducted, implemented, and developed. 

November 11 | 2:30–3:30 pm | PHC Multipurpose Room & Zoom | RSVP

Dr. Brent Williams will share insights from 15+ years in epidemiology, including recent work using EHR data, like Epic Cosmos, for national cardiovascular disease surveillance. Williams is Director of Outcomes Research, Cardiovascular Institute, Allegheny Health Network. Open to all CPH faculty, staff, and students. Event sponsored by the Department of Health Administration and Policy.

Join the Office of the President, ROTC, and the Office of Military Services to celebrate and honor Veterans Day. The annual Veterans Day Luncheon is happening Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 11:45 am in the Center for the Arts lobby. George Mason community members who have proudly served the country are invited and encouraged to attend the luncheon. Registration is required. Space is limited, so RSVP today. 

At George Mason, we aspire to serve our veterans with as much dedication and devotion as they have provided to our country. Veterans, George Mason University salutes you! See the complete list of events honoring Veterans Day at George Mason.

November 14 | 12 - 12:30 pm | Zoom

More information about speakers to come. A calendar invite with a Zoom link is coming soon. This is the last one for the fall 2025 semester. Save the date for spring 2026 Lightning Talks: February 20 and April 10. Two of the three presenters are:

—Maryam Sadat Farvid, NFS: The Role of Low-Carbohydrate Diets in Health

—Ali Weinstein, GCH Research and Scholarship at the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being

November 17 | 11:30 am | PHC Multipurpose Room

Matthias von Schwanenflüegel is a visiting HAP affiliate faculty member from Germany. Lunch to follow his talk.

Presented by HR and Staff Council
November 20 | 2:30 - 3:30 pm | Zoom (calendar invite coming soon)

Whether retirement is decades away or just around the corner, join the HR Benefits team to learn all about retirement. We'll cover savings options, consultation opportunities, and what the process looks like at George Mason. Planning now can provide peace of mind and help ensure you’re on the right track for the future you envision!

If you have questions you'd like addressed during the session, please submit them by November 18 using our Retirement Questions Form.

This session is designed especially for classified staff and A/P faculty, so if that's you, we hope to see you there! 

Now through December 15

Support students facing food insecurity this holiday season by donating non-perishable food and hygiene items to marked drop-off boxes in all CPH department suites or by contributing online.

MOST NEEDED ITEMS
Food: Pasta, rice, canned tuna/chicken, soups, mac & cheese, vegetables, snacks, peanut butter, cereal, instant oatmeal, vegetarian/vegan options. 
Hygiene: Body wash, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, lotion, toothpaste, period products, razors, laundry detergent, paper towels, toilet paper.

HAP retains the lead, Nutrition & Food Studies in second in place. T Rebmann was top individual stepper again last week.

Reporting for November 3-9 is due today by 11:59 pm. All CPH employees can join in—this includes adjuncts, GRAs, and wage staff. Report your preceding week’s steps here.

Becker’s Behavioral Health: From lab to life: How virtual reality and wearable sensors are transforming SUD recovery Holly Matto quoted. Also in Rama in Healthcare.

Newsweek: Commonly Used Pesticides Linked to Falling Sperm Counts Alumna Sumaiya Safia Irfan, MPH ’24, and Melissa Perry quoted. Also in the Telegraph, Idaho Statesmen, Sun Herald, the State, and Merced Sun-Star. Similar in Scienmag, Bioengineer.org, Medical Xpress, Raw News, Health 365, New Telegraph (Nigeria)  and the Globe.

New York Dawn: Why is the ‘freshmen 15’ phenomenon so widespread?  Alicia Hong, quoted, with Lawrence Cheskin, distinguished professor, and Hong Xue, mentioned. Similar in Gizmodo, Europe Says, Knowridge, Earth.com, Wealth Creation Investing, and The University Network.

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Access the CPH brand toolkit, including CPH and department logos.

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Questions or comments about the newsletter? Email mcunni7@gmu.edu.